Shafaqna English- Rights groups say they expect UK’s student, Salma Al-Shehab will be released from a Saudi prison “within the next few days”.
In an open letter published on Wednesday (15 Jan 2025), the organizations said they welcomed the recent decision by a Saudi court to reduce Shehab’s sentence from 27 years to four years, with a four-year suspension, calling it a “significant step to correct a gross miscarriage of justice”.
“We expect Al-Shehab to be released within the next few days, and urge the Saudi authorities to ensure she is granted full freedom, including the right to travel to complete her PhD studies at the University of Leeds in the UK,” the organizations, including the UK-based Alqst and Geneva-based MENA Rights Group, wrote.
The 36-year-old women’s rights activist and mother of two was arrested in January 2021 in the kingdom’s Eastern Province during a family holiday and was subjected to nearly 10 months in solitary confinement and lengthy interrogation before she was brought to trial, the groups said.
She was convicted in March 2022 for following and retweeting dissidents and activists on X and was originally sentenced to six years.
But her sentence was drastically increased that August to 34 years in prison, plus a 34-year travel ban, which the groups said is one of the longest sentences ever imposed on a peaceful activist exercising their freedom of expression in the kingdom.
In January 2023, her sentence was reduced to 27 years. On Wednesday, the groups shared for the first time publicly that Shehab was resentenced to four years, with a four-year suspension, during a retrial in September 2024.
Source: Middle East Eye